In the transportation industry, various vehicle services are often offered to users of vehicles to enhance their experience with the vehicle. Familiar services now include a variety of software and application-based services, in varied forms, some of which are for free and other which require a subscription or fee-based model. Example of such services include enabling users to connect their smart phones to the vehicles audio system, providing turn-by-turn directions through in-car, on-screen applications, and receiving emergencies services such as unlocking a vehicle's door or the automated reporting of an accident. Many of these services are consumer-focused, in which they enhance the experience of using a vehicle and for some consumers, the availability of these services can be persuasive in making a buying decision for a particular car brand or model.
However, prior to or during a purchase, a salesperson's ability to successfully access the varied services available for a possible customer for a particular vehicle may influence a customer's buying decision. Further, there may be occasions after purchase in which the dealership would have a continued interest in communicating with subsequent owners of a vehicle about recalls, owner benefits and other assorted impacts which may benefit the present vehicle owner.
For instance, in many present model vehicles, there may be resident in a vehicle personal information of the owner, geopositional and geolocational activity of the owner, and other data that is unique to the owner and often consider sensitive or possibly confidential to an owner. When an owner elects to sell or otherwise transfer their vehicle, often owners and purchasers are most concerned about the financial and titling aspects of the deal to ensure that title and monies are properly exchanged. However, often many owners do not consider the effects of transferring their vehicle to another where that vehicle includes customer information of the original owner.
Similarly, subscription services that may have been subscribed to by the present owner may inadvertently continue with a new or subsequent owner, may not receive subsequent owner customer information details and updates, and may automatically be continued at a fee even though the original owner no longer is in control of the vehicle after selling to a subsequent owner. Likewise, the subsequent owner may have difficulty signing up for subscription services if there is already an account associated with the vehicle.
Therefore there is a desire both to better inform, communicate and deactivate subscription services as well as stored customer information on vehicles that are sold, transferred or otherwise undergo a subsequent owner activity, and to enable subsequent owners to subscribe to services, via an authentication-based process, while overcoming the traditional security, financial and logistical challenges. In this manner, the ability to provide better security of data protection to original vehicle owners and enable subsequent owners to have a better experience with their ownership by using their own customer data, may be realized. The present invention is directed to such a need.